Muslim firefighter will be able to wear hijab while working in RS; understand

A Muslim firefighter won the right to wear the Islamic hijab veil while working in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul.

The 7th Public Finance Court of the District of Porto Alegre granted provisional protection determining that the State and the Military Fire Department of RS do not prevent the use of hijab by Muslim military firefighters along with the institutional uniform.

According to the Rio Grande do Sul Court, the case deals with the compatibility between religious freedom and uniformity rules in the state military public service. Substitute Judge Thiago Notari Bertoncello understood that the administrative prohibition on the use of the veil violates the fundamental right to religious freedom and highlighted the absence of concrete technical demonstration of absolute operational incompatibility.

The decision also prohibits the initiation of administrative disciplinary procedures or the application of sanctions exclusively due to the use of religious clothing.

The process began after Anaji (National Association of Islamic Jurists) filed the lawsuit, after discovering an administrative decision by the Fire Department, which denied authorization for a Muslim military firefighter to wear a hijab alongside her uniform.

The association maintained that the use of the Islamic veil constitutes an external manifestation of religious faith, guaranteed by the Federal Constitution, and claimed that there was no concrete technical demonstration that the clothing would compromise the safety or operability of the activities carried out by the corporation. He also argued that the internal regulations themselves allow for flexibility and additional regulations in specific situations.

The decision
When analyzing the case, the judge highlighted that the Federal Constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and belief, including its external manifestations, such as the use of religious clothing.

The judge cited precedents from the STF (Supreme Federal Court) related to religious freedom, the secularity of the State and the possibility of reasonable adaptations in the exercise of public functions, in addition to judgments that recognized the right to wear religious clothing in official documents.

According to the decision, state secularism does not mean the elimination of the public servant's individual religious identity, but the institutional neutrality of the State.

The judge also noted that the Military Fire Department already makes adjustments in situations involving the religious convictions of civil servants and highlighted the existence of internal opinions in favor of authorizing the use of the hijab.

It considered that the absolute prohibition of clothing, without concrete analysis of alternatives compatible with operational requirements, proved to be disproportionate and violative of the essential core of religious freedom.

It was determined that the State and the Fire Department refrain from preventing the use of the hijab by the firefighter and other Muslim military firefighters in a similar situation, as long as the conditions of compatibility with the personal protective equipment required in each functional activity are observed.

The initiation of disciplinary procedures motivated exclusively by the use of religious clothing was also prohibited. The decision can be appealed.

CNN Brasil requested a position from the Government of Rio Grande do Sul. The space is open.

Source: CNN